Minnesota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lake County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lake County pays $1,765 a year, an effective rate of 0.73%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,765
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.73%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -11%
- vs U.S. average
- #80 of 87
- rank in MN
The verdict
Homeowners in Lake County pay a median $1,765 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.73%, more affordable than 56% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,765
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.73%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1364 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -11%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($241,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Minnesota. Population: 10,879. Owner-occupied homes: 4,125.
The median annual property tax in Lake County is $1,765, which is 47% lower than the Minnesota state average and 11% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.73% on a median home value of $241,300. Property taxes represent 2.3% of the median household income in this county.
Lake County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lake County's 0.73% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 56%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Minnesota median
Homeowners in Lake County pay a median annual property tax of $1,765, notably lower than the national median and well below the Minnesota state median. On a $241,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.73% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Minnesota counties by effective rate
Lake County ranks #80 of 87 counties in Minnesota by effective rate (8% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $75,541 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 5.4%, from $1,674 to $1,765. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lake County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 30% from $1,357 to $1,765. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 1,096 of 4,125 owner-occupied homes (26.6%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 2.3% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Lake County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lake County homeowners, 1,096 of 4,125 owner-occupied homes (26.6%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.4% (472)
- $800 to $1,499 26.6% (1,096)
- $1,500 to $1,999 21.1% (869)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.6% (726)
- $3,000 or more 21.7% (895)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
67 homes here (1.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Minnesota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Lake County pay about the same bill, a 4% gap.
Lake County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lake County's effective rate is higher than 8% of the 87 counties in Minnesota - ranking #80 of 87.
Where Lake County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.73% more affordable than 56% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Lake County moved from $1,357 in the 2020 release to $1,765 in 2024, a change of about 30%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Lake County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lake County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.3% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Lake County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Minnesota counties.
Lake County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,765 +5.4% | 0.73% |
| 2023 | $1,674 +5.3% | 0.75% |
| 2022 | $1,590 +9.8% | 0.79% |
| 2021 | $1,448 +6.7% | 0.79% |
| 2020 | $1,357 | 0.78% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Lake County: tax-to-income at 2.3%
Counties near Lake County's effective rate
On effective rate, Lake County sits nearest Worcester County (MD), Montgomery County (KY), Madison County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Kootenai County (ID), McCracken County (KY), Palm Beach County (FL).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Lake County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 220 of 5,400 returns from Lake County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,145 - 32% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Minnesota
Lake County rate FAQs
- How does Lake County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lake County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.73% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Lake County, Minnesota?
- The median annual property tax in Lake County is $1,765, an effective rate of 0.73% on a $241,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Lake County?
- Lake County, Minnesota scores C (56/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A- (+$74). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- Are property taxes increasing in Lake County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lake County is recorded at $1,765 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,357 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 4,125 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lake County?
- Property taxes in Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $75,541 median household income.
What to do with Lake County's UNDER rate
Inside Minnesota, Lake County's $1,765 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Minnesota overview →
Lake County ranks #80 of 87 Minnesota counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Minnesota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Lake County's UNDER effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.73%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,765/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lake County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lake County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Page County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,764/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.41% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Sherman County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,764/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.16% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Iron County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,768/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.07% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Stark County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,768/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.69% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Minnesota county set
State ACS overview for every published Minnesota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lake County stamps UNDER · MID - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Lake County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.